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It does sound tempting. I guess I'll just tape my nike sport kit sensor to my foot. Not a problem.

I tried it the other day - barefoot stadiums. I could barely walk for a week following - not because my feet hurt (though halfway through my heels did starting feeling bruised), but because it was a killer calf workout!

I can see my dad doing this because he grew up too poor to wear shoes. His feet are all beat up and full of calluses. But what about those of us who have kept our feet in comfy shoes and never got them accustomed to coming in contact with the ground? Will our feet fare well?

On dirt? Sure. But our feet (and knees and backs) didn't evolve to run on concrete and cement.

@Claire T.: yes, tape it on! :)

@ttbj: that's what we've heard--your feet don't hurt, but you use totally different muscles (aka, the correct running muscles)

@graciela: according to what i've read thus far.... your feet adapt rather quickly and as mcdougall says, "i have this special equipment called 'eyeballs'" ....but for the wary, there are other shoes (made with less materials) that mimic running barefoot without the naked foot part. a happy middle ground if you will!

@How Green is My Valley: actually, mcdougall purports that it's even easier to run on smooth, manmade surfaces...something to look into for sure. the barefoot running means your feet plant much softer, naturally lessening the impact on harder surfaces. (i know that when i run, i plant too hard--so anything to encourage a lighter step is something i need to work on!)

@graciella, there are some cool ones that look like gorilla feet (try googling for that, I bet they'll come up) that are basically just enough to keep you from getting stabbed in the foot. There's a guy at my gym that uses them and I want to give them a try, running shoes hurt my feet no matter how carefully I've been fitted. Of course, it's still a product to buy.

I want to try this, but there is NO way I'm running barefoot on my city sidewalks... I suffer from ankle pain when I run, but I find whenever I'm barefoot, I can run faster, easier and with less pain. I hate shoes, and take them off the first opportunity I have.

I sometimes wish I lived near the beach, just so I could run barefoot in the sand...

Vibram Five Fingers. The running shoes for barefoot runners. Please don't run on city pavement in bare feet.

I'm a regular runner of moderate distances (4 miles daily, 8 miles weekends) on asphalt rather than concrete. My worry for barefoot running would not be the cushioning (or lack thereof) from a shoe nor the "support" since I never wear shoes inside the house, but all the dangers of the city streets and sidewalks-- broken glass (yes, I have eyes and can see it, except for those little clear pieces shaded by leaves), dog/cat/wild animal feces (sure, you see piles but not the smears tracked across the path), etc.

And having been a regular Ocean Beach SF runner till I moved, I think I'd be even less likely to run on sand barefoot than pavement since sand hides dangers better.

Running puts a tremendous amount of force on your joints and there's no way you should be running on hard surfaces without good shoes. Just ask my father, who ran for years and (so far) has had both hips and one knee replaced.

Running without shoes probably makes sense if you're running on dirt and will die by age 30, but if you want to live a long life with less joint pain, walking would be a healthier choice, in my opinion.

I second the Vibram Five Fingers. Just like walking barefoot, but with batman-suit-ish molded plastic around each toe and the sole. My husband is a huge fan and wears them everywhere (even on our engagement photo shoot!). Here's a pic of the underside: http://tinyurl.com/ygseo5s